Study: Mount Everest losing its cloak of ice and snow as world warms

CANCUN, Mexico, May 13 (UPI) -- A study of snow and ice on Mount Everest shows the world's highest mountain peak is shedding its frozen cloak as glaciers retreat with warming, researchers say.

Glaciers on Mount Everest and the national park surrounding it have shrunk by 13 percent in the last 50 years and the snowline has shifted upward by 590 feet, Sudeep Thakuri, who is leading the research as part of his doctoral studies at the University of Milan in Italy, said.